Casing head



May 27,1924.

A. G. HEGGEM CASING HEAD Filed March '29. 1925 gwwnlot I Patented May27, 1924.

UNlTE STATES ALFRED e. unseen, or worse, oxmmom CASING HEAD.

Application flled March 29,1923. Serial No. 628,686.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED G. HEGGEM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Tulsa, in the county of Tulsa and State of Oklahoma, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Casing Heads; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to casing heads for oil wells and has for itsprincipal object to provide a strong, simple and compact device whieh isadapted to be readily applied to or removed from the well casing by theI use of chain tongs, which is easily moulded and machined, is notliable tocontain casting defects, and is free of structural features aptto be broken in service with a resultant loss of oil.

The primary ,feature of the invention, generally stated, consists'inproviding the casing head with an axially extending open-- ing orpassage and with a plurality of radial side outlet openingscommunicating therewith, the outer ends of said side outlets terminatinat the peri heral surface of the head, whic is forme as a cylinder freefrom projections and of substantially uniform diameter throughout, andthe inner ends of said side outlets being-.respectively reinforced bybosses or pads of metal on the interior of said head. g 4

A further feature of the invention consists in forming the casing headwith an internal shelf for supporting the tubing of the well, and insupporting said shelf at a plurality of oints by means of bosses or padportions which reinforce the inner ends of the side outlet openings withwhich the head is provided.

Other features of invention residing in particular constructions andrelations of details will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the inventlon,the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims,-

Figure 1 is a plan view of a four-way casing head embodying theinvention.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic vertical section of the construction shown inFig. 1, taken in the plane of op ositely disposed side outlet openings,and diagrammatically indicating by dotted lines the relation of thecasing head top thereto.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a two-way caslng head embodying theinvention.

Flgure 4 is a diametric vertical section of the construction shown inFig 3, taken in a plane at right angles to the axis of the slde outletopenings "of the casing.

The casing head 1. illustrated in Figs. 1 and2 of'the drawings is of theso-called four-way type, being formed with four circumferentially spacedradially extending threaded side outlet openings 2 which communicatewith the axially disposed opening or passage 3 with which the head isconstructed. At the lower end of the opening 3' the-head is providedwiththreads 4 which areadapted to cooperate with the threads upon the upperend of the casing of the well. Above'thethreaded portion 4 thereof theaxial passage 3 is expanded or enlarged, as indicated at 5,-the saidenlargement preferably corresponding in height to the diameter of theside outlets 2, which communicate with the interior of the casing headat this point. Immediately above the side outlet openings 2 the axialopening 3 is contracted by the provision of an internal reinforcingflange 6 which affords a shelf enabling the weight of the tubing of thewell to be sustained by the casing head The shelf 6 is shown as providedwith a groove or annular recess 7 to receive the usual rubber packingring on which the casing head top 8 rests. Above the groove 7 the headis provided with threaded openings 9 for receiving the usual setscrewslO by which the top is maintained in position. While a well Iknown form of top 8, commonly designated the Berry type, has been.diagrammatically illustrated by dotted lines in Fig.8, it is to beunderstood that this particular form of top is merely'shown for purposesof illustra-' tion and that other suitable devices. may be substitutedtherefor.

The periphery or-exterior of the head is formed as 'a' cylindricalsurface 11 of uniform diameter'fromtop to bottom and the outer ends ofthe side outlet openings 2 terminate at said surface, thus leaving theexterior-of the head free of bosses or projections. The interior 'wallsof the head bounding the enlarged portion 5 of the axial opening 3preferably comprise a plurality of vertically extending faces 12 whichlie in plane's parallel to the axis of the external cylindrical surface11, such construction resulting in causing the bounding wall of the headto be thicker at points adjacent the side. outlet openings 2 than atpoints intermediate of said openings. By thisnmeans the inner ends ofthe openings 2 are surrounded and reinforced by internal bosses or padsof metal 13 forming supports for the shelf 6 by which the weight of thetubing is sustained.

The casing head 1 illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 is substantially the sameas that shown in Figs. 1' and 2 except that it is provided with onlytwoside outlet 0 enings 2 instead of with four such openings. In thisconstruction but two bosses or pad portions 13 are required to reinforcethe inner ends of the side outlet openings 2 and therefore the enlargedportion 5 of the axial opening or passageil through the head mayadvantageously be of somewhat difi'erent configuration from that of thecorresponding enlargement 5 in the axial passage of the four-way headheretofore described, the portions 14 of the bounding wall of the headwhich are between the bosses or pad portions being preferablycomparatively thin and of uniform cross-section throughout. The remaininfeatures of the construction of the casing cad, illustrated in Fi 3 andt correspond in form and function to structural features shown in 1 and2 and heretofore described, and accordingly corresponding referencecharacters have been applied thereto.

It will be perceived that my invention makes possible a compact casinghead of less axial length than diameter to which chain tongs may bepractically applied to setu said head or break its joint with the welcasing. It will also be appreciated that a casing head constructed inaccordance with the invention offers great strength to resist rupturewhere it receives the casing, is readily moulded because its cylindricalshape enables the pattern to be easily drawn from the sand, and requiresonly very simple machining. Moreover, the cylindrical form of the casinghead enables the casting to be performed by pouring the molten metal sothat it rises uniformly and does not have any rojections to close over,thus insuring good metal throughout the head and consequently reducingthe likelihood of breakage in service. The ability thus to pour thecasing heads is a material advantage, for in the common types of casingheads the metal rises on the two sides and finally forms a union at thetop, and if the metal chills on the rising surfaces a good union is noteffected when these two surfaces contact on the upper portion of themould.

tending opening therethrough, said head be-v ing provided at one endwith means whereincense by it may be secured to-the upper end of a wellcasing, and being provided adjacent its other end with means forsupporting the tubing of a well, and having a plurality of side outletopenings, and being formed with a substantially cylindrical peripheralsurface which'is free from projections, and being provided with aplurality of thickened port-ions which extend inwardly from saidperipheral surface and respectively surround and reinforce said sideoutlet openings at their inner ends.

.2. A casing head having an axially extending opening therethrough andhaving its external peripheral surface formed between its ends as acylinder of substantially uniform diameter throughout, said head beingprovided with means whereby it may be secured to the upper end of a wellcasing, and being provided with side outlet openings communicating withthe interior of said head and terminating at saidperipheral surface, thebounding wall of said head being of greater thickness at points adjacentsaid pide outlets than at points between said outets.

3; A casing head having an axial opening therethrough and having sideoutlet open- '-ings the inner ends whereof communicate with said axialopening and the outer ends whereof lie in a substantially cylindricalperipheral surface of the head whose axis corresponds to that of theopening first named, said' head being provided above said side outletopenings with an internal shelf for supporting the tubing of a well, andalso being formed on its interior beneath said shelf with a plurality ofboss portions which respectively reinforce the inner ends of said sideoutlet openings and support said shelf.

4. A casing head having an axial opening therethrough and having itsexternal periphenal surface formed as a cylinder of substantiallyuniform diameter throughout, and having a plurality of side outletopenings communicating with said axial opening and terminating at theirouter ends at said peripheral surface, the lower end of said axialopening being threaded for receiving the casing of a Well, said axialopening being enlarged immediately above said threaded portion and beingcontracted above said side outlet openings to form a shelf adapted tosupport the well tubing, and said shelf being disposed in a planesubstantially tangent to said side out-let openings.

5. A casing head having an axial opening therethrough and a plurality ofside outlet openings communicating with said axial openings, said headbeing provided below said side outlet openings with means for securingthe casing of a well thereto, and being provided above said side out-letopenings with means for supporting the tubing of a well, the externalsurface of said head being substantially cylindrical and free fromoutwardly extending projections in a transverse plane passing throughsaid side outlet openings, and the interior surface of said headadjacent said side outlet openings comprising a plurality of facesextending parallel to the axis of said cylindrical surface, portions ofsaid faces being at a greaterradial distance from said cylindricalsurface than other portions thereof, whereby said head is reinforced atpoints adjacent said side outlet openings.

6. A casing head having an axial opening therethrough and having itsperipheral surface formed as a cylinder of substantially uniformdiameter throughout, said head being provided at one end of said axialopening with threads for cooperating with the said reinforcingflange'jorming" a support for the tubing of a well.-

In testimony whereof I aflixmy signature.

ALFRED G. HEGGEM.

\ an axial length less than its diameter, and

